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Ziggy
Ziggurat 8, called Ziggy by MOMO Mizrahi and his allies, is introduced as a combat cyborg developed by Ziggurat Industries. He is assigned the task of recovering and protecting MOMO Mizrahi, the prototype 100-Series Observational Realian. He cares for MOMO, who considers him to be a fatherly figure. Ziggy is one of the main playable characters of Xenosaga. Prior to becoming a cyborg, Ziggy's human name was Jan Sauer. Jan was once a Federation counter-terrorism agent, but he suicided at the age of thirty (in T.C. 4667) after the death of his wife, Sharon Rozas, and stepson, Joaquin Rozas, at the hands of a notorious U.M.N. terrorist, Voyager. Technically once a corpse, Jan was revived as a cyborg after his death because of the Life Recycling Act and given a second chance at life as Ziggurat 8, but with his past life memories intact. Ziggy wishes to be brainwashed because of traumatic experiences as a human and forget his humanity. This is in contrast to MOMO, who wishes to be human. Personality Ziggy is a calm, collected, and possibly desensitized and traumatized cyborg soldier. Jr. considers him to be cold and emotionless because Ziggy does things with careful thinking and does not let his emotions get the better of him. It is due to his life over the century that he would be considered wise and very experienced on the field of battle. However, Ziggy is far from lacking the feelings he had when he was alive, as he was shown to be greatly concerned for MOMO's life from her analysis by Albedo's trap, and he even shows a great deal of anger and hate towards Voyager for killing his family. After much talk from his friends and Juli he comes to finally make peace with his current life and would be there to protect MOMO and his friends. Background Federation Police Jan Sauer was assigned to the Federation police in T.C. 4659. Jan became a Captain in the 1875th Special Operations Command Detachment of the Federation Police Bureau in 4660, a unit specializing in counterterrorism. ''Xenosaga: Pied Piper'' The stage of Xenosaga: Pied Piper takes place T.C. 4667, 100 years prior to the events of Xenosaga: Episode I. He and his squad were deployed to the planet Abraxas (later renamed Michtam) to investigate murders in the U.M.N.. These terrorist acts were caused by a cloaked individual under the hacker alias "Voyager". Jan became further intertwined with the destiny of the Zohar when he met the widow Sharon Rozas and her son Joaquin Rozas. Jan Sauer and Sharon developed a relationship which led to marriage. With the help of his squad and Sharon’s medical knowledge, Jan's investigation draws closer to the funding source of Voyager’s murders. This turns out to be Dmitri Yuriev, who quickly utilizes his connections within the government to have Jan and his team removed from the investigation. This does not stop Jan, even after he and some of his subordinates are arrested. Only after the death of one of his subordinates Mikhail Ortmann, does Jan discover that another member of his team, Erich Weber, is Voyager. Erich explains in part his connection with U-DO, before his Voyager alias takes over and lure Jan to witness his wife and son's deaths. At this point, Voyager becomes the Black Testament, and Jan could do nothing to prevent his family's death. The Black Testament presented an ultimatum to Jan: either to be killed and have his soul consumed by Voyager, or join him as another Testament and live forever. Jan refused both fates and chose suicide by shooting himself in the head with a gun. The witnesses of events that led to his death were Melisse Ortus and Lactis. Two years after his suicide (T.C. 4669), he was activated as the cyborg Ziggurat 8, and about 100 years later the events of Xenosaga: Episode I unfold. Ziggurat Industries Due to the Life Recycling Act and Jan being an organ donor, after Jan Sauer's death his body was resurrected and made into a cyborg by Ziggurat Industries. He was given the product name of "Ziggurat 8", which denoted that he was the eighth (and final, as circumstances would have it) model in Ziggurat's line of cyborgs. Now, Ziggy doesn't own his body anymore and can't kill himself again. Instead of embracing the fact that he was once human, Ziggy is constantly eliminating his organic parts in order to erase his own existence and his memory of his family, to reduce himself from a person to a mere object. As a cyborg, he does not have human rights as Realians do, and as such is subject to the whims of his superiors. He tries to collect money to "upgrade" all his biological parts to mechanical ones, to truly die. Ziggurat 8's skills include infiltration, investigation and in combat utilizes devastating hand-to-hand techniques and heavy artillery. With a high physical attack and hit point rating, Ziggurat 8 is a good offensive and defensive character in all episodes of Xenosaga. His slow speed can be balanced with accessories, and his weakness to ether is made up for his high HP. ''Xenosaga Episode I'' In Episode I, Ziggurat 8 is commissioned by the S.O.C.E. founder Juli Mizrahi to infiltrate the U-TIC Organization base Pleroma and rescue MOMO. When first called Ziggy by MOMO, Ziggurat 8 seemed uncomfortable. He suddenly had a flashback of his lost stepson, Joaquin. He remembered that during his life as Jan Sauer he purchased a synthetic dog for his son, as on a police officer's salary could not afford a real dog. The company which manufactured the dog was Nexus (and the dog's model name was "Nexus 6"), which prompted his stepson to give the nickname Nex, a truncation of the company's name. His manufactured name was similarly truncated by MOMO. This may have been the action that sparked Ziggurat 8's response to take on a fatherly role toward MOMO. During their escape from Pleroma, their spacecraft would have been destroyed by the U.M.N. column walls if not rescued by the Elsa, and so he meets with Shion Uzuki and the rest of the Xenosaga cast. Ziggy seems self-conscious of his present body, and shows discomfort when young women see him undergoing maintenance. However he shows trust in MOMO, as he states because of the "purity of her heart". In Cathedral Ship, when Andrew Cherenkov diffuses into the Zohar Emulator and begins his transformation into a Gnosis, Ziggy remarks how it is "the same, just like that day". This is a reference to the events which happened in his past (Xenosaga: Pied Piper) where Voyager transforms into the Black Testament, harnesses power from the Zohar and transforms into a Gnosis. Ziggy seems to understand some of the events regarding the Zohar, however his general disposition is reserved, and the game does not reveal too much of what he could know of his previous life. In KOS-MOS' Encephalon, Ziggy's past was not shown despite the fact it is stated KOS-MOS sensed everyone's memories, and Nephilim Verum urged everyone to accept the entirety of their memory. chaos explains why his and Allen Ridgeley's memories are not in the Encephalon, yet there is no mention of Ziggy's memories not being there. It is unknown why his memories/fears were not explored in the Encephalon. It could be due to the game's development of Ziggy not being as major a character as Shion and Jr.. In Xenosaga I & II, Ziggy reveals more of his past to the rest of the characters. His only assignment is to protect and support MOMO, yet he accompanies the rest of the party as a support character. During the destruction of Proto Merkabah, Ziggy helps rescue KOS-MOS after Shion's grip of her slipped. ''Xenosaga Episode II'' In Episode II, Ziggy continues to protect MOMO beyond the scope of his assigned mission. When Juli Mizrahi performs maintenance on Ziggy, he reveals the reason why he chose suicide was because of the death of his son. They form a connection because of the loss of their children and the resulting painful memories. Despite Juli Mizrahi's sympathy for Ziggy, the cold reality of his state of life is shown when Ziggy is made the lead (on screen) character and he talks with other employees of the U.M.N. Control Center. A majority treat him as old property. He strongly encourages Juli to be maternal to MOMO. He may also have feelings towards MOMO similar to that of his lost son. This is suggested by the way he is affected both during and after MOMO's analysis. When she collapses, a vivid memory is triggered of Voyager standing over a large pool of blood. Ziggy relates to Albedo's immortality when he says, "Death is rest for the soul. Who was it that said that? If the body did not die, and the fears borne in the mind just continued to pile up, the world would be nothing more than an eternal prison." Within Labyrinthos, Ziggy was briefly focused in on when the information within Canaan was accessed. He became suddenly reserved and placed his hands behind his back. This could implicate he suspects Canaan might be in some way tied to the mysterious program "Canaan" mentioned by his Realian subordinate Lactis in the past (Xenosaga: Pied Piper). Given this, Ziggy should recognize Dmitri Yuriev and his intent as well. As to why Ziggy does not disclose to the party the familiar connections of these events is not known. He does however, inquire Jr. to explain what U-DO is before they dive into MOMO's subconscious. In the Ω System, Ziggy recognizes that the Black Testament is Voyager. Ziggy sacrifices his cybernetic arm by breaking through a wall for the party's escape from the Omega System. When he is being repaired, Juli Mizrahi asks him to consider lifespan extension. Eventually he accepts, primarily for MOMO's sake but it is also likely that the reappearance of his family's murderer has prompted him to carry on his life. At the end of Episode II he is to be stationed at the Kukai Foundation and remain on call as a bodyguard for MOMO. He also decides to take life extension for MOMO's sake. ''Xenosaga Episode III'' Ziggy is among those that investigate Rennes-le-Château in the E.S. Zebulun, and he also assists in retrieving KOS-MOS from the CAT Testing Grounds on Fifth Jerusalem and subsequent adventures. During most of the game his part is minor, up until when Voyager tried to kidnap KOS-MOS in the Elsa. After a battle, Ziggy attempts to attack Voyager using a massive weapon, having no effect, asking him about his motives. Voyager eventually retreats after an attack by KOS-MOS, saying they will finish their fight later. Later, after arriving on Michtam and seeing the buildings, Ziggy realizes he had been there before. It was Abraxas. At the cathedral where Voyager killed Ziggy's wife and son, Ziggy confronts Voyager and the group. It is there that Voyager reveals what he wants: eternal pleasure, and to enjoy his eternal life along with Ziggy. Voyager then fights the party in the E.S. The group manages to destroy Voyager's E.S., and Lactis ends up tricking Voyager, pulling them both into phase space, destroying them both completely. At the end of the game, Ziggy stays behind on the Dämmerung with MOMO and Juli, to help create a replacement network for the U.M.N. Relationships MOMO Momo and Ziggy have a father-daughter relationship. Ziggy protects Momo after he rescues her from Ormus. He sees her as a kind girl. Example: He let her fix his body because of her "purity of her heart". Voyager The man who killed Ziggy's wife and child. Ziggy hates Voyager. Near the end of the second episode, where Ziggy loses himself and begins firing at Voyager while they were on Omega, Jr. later says, "I've never seen you that mad before." And the two begin a small conversation. Juli Mizrahi One of the people that introduced Ziggy to MOMO, and instructed him to protect her. Etymology "Jan" is a form of Johannes, which is an Ancient Latin form of Ioannes, and in English means John. Ioannes or John is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (‘Yochanan’) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious." This name owes its consistent popularity to two characters of the New Testament, both highly revered as saints. The first was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ and a victim of beheading by Herod Antipas. The second was the Apostle John, supposedly the author of the fourth Gospel of John and Book of Revelation also known as The Apocalypse of John. In Xenosaga: Pied Piper Voyager’s victims quote passages from Revelation. "Sauer" is a German nickname. In England there were several names for the grave or austere man, including Sterne and Stark. Sauer is the German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) nickname for the cross or cantankerous person, and is derived from the German sauer = sour, from Middle High German sur, a cognate of English sour. Mental and moral qualities were often ascribed to people during Medieval times, with the differences in spelling and pronunciation due to the varying dialects and languages. Sauer and Wunderlich both designated the morose or moody man in Germany. A "Ziggurat" is an ancient pyramidal structure once believed to be dwelling places for the gods. It is built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, which housed a temple at its summit. The purpose of the tiers was to get the temple closer to the heavens. The model number 8 could be a play on the number of tiers on a ziggurat. Built on seven levels, the ziggurat represented seven heavens and planes of existence. If there was an eighth tier it might represent the temple itself or perhaps going beyond these planes of existence. "Ziggy" is a nickname (more accurately an abbreviation) for Ziggurat 8, and a reference to David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Ziggy actually resembles David Bowie as The Thin White Duke. Jr. suggested in Episode II that Ziggy is beginning to like this nickname, which is a sign that Ziggy is gradually regaining his will to be human, rather than a machine. Despite this change in heart, there are implications that he may not like his former name Jan Sauer, because it reminds him of his painful past. Tech Attacks Quotes Battle quotes * "I will show you what a true battle is like!" * "Watch the enemy closely, and react quickly!" * "Do not hesitate if you wish to live!" * "A worthy adversary!" * "MOMO, be careful. This is no ordinary foe." (During Margulis battle) * "Don't take it too hard. You didn't stand a chance." * "The outcome was decided even before the battle began." * "The first rule of survival is to only think about oneself." * "Perhaps interference still lingers within me..." * "I'm sorry...!" * "I owe you one... thanks!" * "Let's go!" Story quotes * "It's... nothing you need to worry about... I'm sorry..." (to MOMO after Cherenkov dies) * "Even cyborgs get nightmares. I tried everything I could to erase it." Trivia *The in-game database for Episode I states Ziggy was born 4637, whereas the timeline that came with the Episode III guide states he was born 4639. *In Episode I, Ziggy may be considered both 128 years old and 130 years old - it depends if you consider him being dead for two years as part of his age. He has been a cyborg for 98 years. *Considering how Jan killed himself by shooting himself in the head with a gun (presumably with a bullet in the brain), it's amazing he could even be revived with his memories intact. Gallery Xenosaga Episode I Song2.jpg|Art. ZiggyCon.png|Art. MOMOZiggy.png|MOMO meets Ziggurat 8. MoZig.png|MOMO and Ziggy. ZiggyMargulis.gif|Ziggy versus Margulis. ZigCorpses.png|Ziggy finds a beaten gang at the dock colony. ZigShi.png|Ziggy and Shion. MoZig2.png|MOMO and Ziggy. ZiggyWin.gif|Ziggy wins a battle. Xenosaga717.png|Ziggy and MOMO. C_ziggy.jpg|''Xenosaga DS''. Ziggy5.jpg|''Xenosaga DS''. 10a.jpg|''Xenosaga DS''. Xenosaga: The Animation Zig1.png|Ziggy at S.O.C.E. Zig2.png|Ziggy at S.O.C.E. Zigg.png|Ziggy fighting KOS-MOS. ZiggyAnime.png|Ziggy in the Durandal's park. ZiggyAnime2.png|Ziggy speaking to Lapis Roman. Ziggy_Punch.gif|Ziggy in the Encephalon. Zigg3.png|Ziggy on the Durandal. Zigg2.png|Ziggy fighting Albedo. Xenosaga Episode II Ziggy2.jpg|''Episode II''. Ziggy_xanosaga_II.png|''Episode II'' swimsuit. Eavesdrop.gif|Jr. eavesdropping on Ziggy. ZigJuli.png|Ziggy and Juli. ZigEp2.png|Ziggy during MOMO's analysis. ZiggyDive.png|Ziggy prepared to dive into MOMO's Encephalon. ZiggyDives.gif|Ziggy prepared to dive into MOMO's Encephalon. Prison.gif|Ziggy explains how immortality would be a mental prison. ZiggySpin.gif|Ziggy spinning his hand. Xenosaga Episode III Ziggy291100.png|Concept art. 040Ziggy.png|Default. C3ziggy00.png|Default (Battle/Field Model). 041Ziggy2.png|Swimsuit. C3ziggy01.png|Swimsuit (Battle/Field Model). Ziggy3.gif|Ziggy using Penetrate. ZigWin.gif|Ziggy wins a battle. Zig3.gif|Ziggy in battle. Category:Characters Category:Pied Piper characters Category:Episode I characters Category:Episode II characters Category:Episode III characters Category:Playable characters Category:Male characters